


My Protector, My Guardian

by StarShinobi



Category: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-26
Updated: 2015-09-17
Packaged: 2018-03-15 07:00:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3437903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarShinobi/pseuds/StarShinobi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just when they think they have finally saved the Digital and Human world, fate once again proves that peace comes at a cost. After one of their own it taken and the stakes are raised, the Digidestined are tested on how far they are willing to go to save them.  What price are they willing to pay?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's Never Perfect

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Going to get this little tidbit out of the way. This is a revision of my story under the same name on fanfiction.net. I am hoping to be able to improve it and get constructive criticism to improve it even more. Please feel free to drop me any suggestions!
> 
> Disclaimer: Digimon and its characters belong to Akiyoshi Bongo, Toei Animation, Bandai, et al. I am forever grateful for their creativity.
> 
> Warnings: angst, violence, some torture, language, and character death. Later chapters will have occassions of detailed violence. Chapters with this occurrence will be listed here as they are added.

* * *

 

“Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So, love the people who treat you right, and forget about the ones who don’t. And believe that everything happens for a reason…if you get a chance – take it; if it changes your life – let it. Nobody said that it would be easy…They just promised it would be worth it.”

 -Unknown

 

* * *

 

 The group lay in the grass, wind blowing through the tall blades as he lay with eleven of the most important people in his life. Over the span of the last four and a half years, the people around him had quickly changed from complete strangers, to annoying acquaintances, to best friends, to closest family. His hand was entwined with that of the girl next to him, her head resting on his shoulder as they listened to the conversations of the people around them.

 It was nice to finally sit in this place, this strangely beautiful world made up of living data, gazing at the stars in a reserved celebration of their victory over the evil that contaminated this now reconstructed world not a week before. He could not take his eyes off the stars above them, diamonds that seemed to shine just that much brighter without the darkness diming their brilliance.

 “This is soooo soothing,” said Mimi, stretching her long legs and fluffing her pink hair, “I can’t remember the last time we were able to just lay here with no worries about being attacked by evil digimon.”

 “It’s nice to know that the world is safe from darkness again,” said Cody, his eyes closed peacefully.

 “Until the next evil digimon shows its ugly face and it starts all over again,” said Joe, adjusting his large glasses to no avail.

 “Joe!” yelled Mimi, sitting up in a flash to scold the older teen.

 “Don’t think about that now,” said Izzy. “Let’s just bask in the euphoria of the impracticable accomplishment that we have achieved and not bother with contemplations of creatures with destructive temperaments.”

“Huh?” said Davis.

 Kari couldn’t help but giggle at her friend and proceeded to translate Izzian for Davis as the entwined pair began to talk. “He really is clueless,” she said with a chuckle.

“He is definitely a spitting image of Tai,” he responded squeezing her fingers affectionately. He began rubbing circles into the back of her soft hand with his thumb and turned his head, placing a soft kiss on her forehead with a smile.

“Oh Sora,” said a male in a low mocking voice, “I could just sit here and cuddle with you forever.”

 Matt and Sora sat up just in time to see the show that Tai and Davis were beginning to put on for the group. The two boys had moved to sit next to each other, ready to mock the young couple. Tai had evidently started the exchange as Davis turned to him, hands clasped and eyelashes fluttering, and responded to the retired leader in his best feminine octave. “Oh Matt, I love you so much.”

They both started making kissy faces at each other, causing the rest of the group, sans the couple, to burst into laughter. Matt’s face turned deep red. He had never really been the type to pull public attention to their relationship. He didn’t anyone had been paying attention to them. “You’re just jealous because I can actually _get_ a girlfriend,” he retorted.

“Don’t want one,” said Tai smiling, flex his right arm to emphasize his next point, “I’m wild like a mustang. I need my room to gallop free!” This caused a burst of laughter to ring from T.K. and Kari.

“How long has it been since you two started going out?” asked Mimi trying to stop a potential fight. The two had tried to hide their dating from their friends for a while. Not only did they want to see if their relationship worked before telling their friends, but because Matt was afraid of hurting Tai’s feelings. Both of them knew of the brunette’s feelings for Sora and Matt was afraid that when Tai, his best friend and brother, found out, he would feel betrayed. He wanted the Bearer of Courage to be the first to know and needed to find the best way to tell him. He didn’t want to hurt his friend, but when an opportunity to be with the girl of your dreams comes up, sometimes you have to make a hard decision.

“Six months today,” said Sora, leaning into him a little. She loved being close to him, he made her feel safe. He took care of himself but never flaunted his body for attention. Ever since the day he saved her from the pit of despair that she held in her heart, she had admired him from afar. She too had been worried about Tai’s response if she and Matt were to start dating, but one day she overheard him talking to his band about her and decided that it was time to stop living in fear. One night at a school dance, she asked Matt to dance with her. He accepted and they had their first date a few days later. It was the best decision she had ever made.

“Sorry to interrupt, but it is getting close to dinner and Mom and Dad will be wondering where we are,” said Kari.

“Oh alright,” said Tai, putting his hands behind his head and rolling his eyes. “See you all tomorrow. We still plan on going out to eat for lunch, right?” Despite no longer having to fight for the fate of the world, the group wanted to stay close. They shared a life that no one else could come to understand and the quiet support they found in each other was a foundation in their lives. School breaks, like this one, allowed them to spend more quality time together doing something other than homework.

There were nods of agreement all around as everyone collected themselves to go back to the human world. One at a time they said their goodbyes and went through the portals that were now able to take them straight to their homes thanks to Izzy, until all that remained were Matt, Sora, and T.K.

“You want to have dinner at my house tonight? I could make you something nice,” Sora asked Matt.

“Sure,” he said with a slight chuckle, “but how about I cook. The last concoction you made was a little too much for my stomach to handle.” He rubbed his stomach remembering the unbearable stomach ache he got from her last cooking attempt.

She nodded and began to pull him toward the portal. Just before they went through, Matt felt a hand on his arm and turned to see T.K. standing there sheepishly. “Hey Matt, could I talk to you for a second?”

Matt gave Sora a smile and let go of her hand, holding up a finger to tell her to wait for one second. “Yeah, whatcha need?”

Sore stood by the portal with her back to the pair of brothers, pretending not to listen to their conversation. “Thanks a lot for being there during the final battle. I really appreciated you backing me up.”

"Sure, squirt,” he said, though he knew he hadn’t really done anything at all. “I’m always there to watch your back. You’re my little brother and I will always be there to protect you.” He put his hand on the younger blonde’s bucket hat and used it to ruffle his hair in an attempt to lighten up the serious mood.

“I’m not a little kid anymore,” T.K. said, pulling away from his hand and adjusting his hat in an attempt to hold his dignity. “But…do you really promise to always be by my side?”

Matt was a bit taken aback by the question, wondering where this strange insecurity was coming from. Nonetheless, he didn’t miss a beat with his response. “Til the day I die little bro.”

“Thanks, Matt.” T.K. smiled, all traces gone of the scared kid that stood before him not ten seconds ago.

Matt smiled back and turned to Sora. The couple said their goodbyes to T.K. before she grabbed his hand again. “He really looks up to you.”

“Yeah, too bad. There’s a chance he could grow up to be like me.” He smiled that half smirk that she loved so much and she pulled him through the portal, leaving T.K. behind.

T.K. began to lift his digivice for the portal to take him home when something grabbed onto his arm, digging in its sharp nails painfully into his bicep. T.K. let out a yelp of pain as he was pulled backwards and his arms forced behind his back.

“What’s going on?!” he yelled to whoever or whatever was holding him.

A dark creature appeared in front of him, illuminated by the crescent moon that adorned the digital sky, his long black hair illuminating red in the silvery moonlight. He was a tall humanoid creature with pale, almost white skin and soft eyes matched the color of his moonlit hair with pupils like that of a dragon. He could have easily passed as a sick human if not for the six inch, scarlet claws that grew from his fingertips and the small fangs that were just slightly visible between his lips. “Hello Hope,” he said in a voice that reminded T.K. of black silk. T.K.’s eyes widened as the creature touched his forehead with one of his long, scarlet claws, sending waves of pain through his body. It did not take long for the pain to render him unconscious and he went limp in his captor’s hold, wishing that Patamon was there and not still recovering from the battle.

“Take him to the castle. Light will soon be ours.” The three smaller humanoids accompanying the creature took to the sky, the blonde in their arms. As he watched them go, the man couldn’t suppress the deep chuckle that rumbled in his chest. It was finally his time.

 

* * *

 

 The two passed through the portal, laughing at the twists and turns that once cause them nausea upon landing. It seemed like so long ago that they first took this ride, however involuntary it had been. They landed in Sora’s room without a sound and walked to the kitchen, pulling out some pans for Matt to cook as if traveling via digital network was the commonplace as driving a car.

“So I was thinking you I could stop by your place tomorrow so we could walk to lunch together,” said Matt, pulling a small pan out of the cupboard to sauté some onions.

“Okay, what time were you thinking of coming?” she asked picking out some seasonings.

He was about to answer when a searing pain shot through his head, the shock and pain from the experience causing him to drop the pan on the floor. Sora jumped at the loud noise and was about to chastise the rocker for scaring her when she saw him, pain etched into his face and hands putting pressure on his temples. “Matt,” said Sora, placing her hand on his shoulder, “are you ok?”

He shook his head in an attempt to clear his head. The pain was gone as quickly as it had come, but he still felt somewhat dazed. He looked around the apartment and caught a glimpse of Sora’s computer through her bedroom door, the digital portal still swirling on her desktop. _That’s strange_ , he though, _the portal should have disappeared when T.K. went through._

He felt something shake his shoulder. “Hello? Are you alright?”

He snapped back to the present and shook his head. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a headache.”

“I’ll go get you some aspirin.” She lightly kissed him on the forehead and left to retrieve the medicine.

Matt just nodded and began collecting the cookware he needed again, though his mind was still mulling over the swirling image on Sora’s laptop. _What is going on?_

 

* * *

 

Matt snuck through his apartment door, taking note the time on the clock. 11:30 pm. Great, late again. He had to be careful not to wake his dad at this hour. He knew his dad was happy he spent so much time with Sora, beat sitting home alone like he used to, but this was about the seventh day in a row that he had broken curfew. Matt mentally scolded himself. He always lost track of time with her, he really needed to start setting an alarm on his phone.

He pulled off his shoes and quietly passed by his father’s bedroom where he could hear the loud snoring emanating from behind the closed door. He opened the door to his room, causing the old hinges to creak and his heart to stop. He kept waiting for the snoring to stop, for Hiroki to open the door and scold him for his lateness, but luckily his father was sleeping like a rock tonight. He escaped scrutiny for one night.

He slipped into his room, changed his clothes, and fell into bed. He lay there waiting for sleep to take him over and remembering the night he had with Sora. They had cooked and eaten supper together, actually leaving some for Sora’s mother for when she returned from work, and snuggled on the couch to watch a movie.

Sometime during the movie, the pair must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew, a very tired looking Sora was shaking him awake with an angry mother standing over them. The one thing her mother had always told him was that under no circumstances was he allowed to sleep at their house. He had always thought that meant he was not allowed to stay the night, apparently his assumption was wrong, a notion that she decided to lengthily solidify this evening and thus leading to his breaking of curfew. Matt shook his head at the thought of Sora’s mother. He was respectful to her and never spoke badly of her to Sora, so he was still trying to figure out why she disliked him so much.

Suddenly, a shrill ringing resonated throughout the Ishida apartment, waking him from a sleep he never realized had overtaken him. He shot up and rubbed his eyes. He looked at the clock and couldn’t suppress a groan; 3:28 am. He listened to the ringing emanating from the livingroom, the factory set ring identifying the device as his fathers. He waited for his dad’s door to open but the noise was not able to rouse him.

The ringing ended and he gave a sigh of relief. At least he could go back to sleep now. His head fell back on his pillow once more and closed his eyes only for the ringing to restart. He growled and got out of bed, resigned to the fact that his father would not be answering. He found the phone on the coffee table and flipped it open. “Hello?”

“Oh…hi Matt,” said a voice, obviously surprised he answered his father’s phone. “Is Hiroaki, I mean, your father there?”

“Mom?” he asked. He had not heard from her in ages. The two didn’t really get along much, even after the whole digital world experience. Her voice was very shaky and she sounded nervous, as if she was at the brink of tears.

“Yes, is he there?”

“Yeah, but he’s sleeping. Can I just take a message for him?”

“Um…,” she hesitated, which made Matt quite nervous. His mother always spoke quite confident despite the fact that she seemed uncomfortable around him. “Is T.K. staying at your apartment tonight?”

“No, he should have been home hours ago.” Apparently this was the wrong thing to say and she burst into tears. “Mom, what’s wrong?”

T.K. didn’t come home yesterday.” The words rang in his ears over and over again. His little brother was…gone? But to where? The phone slipped from his hand and fell to the ground. He knew something was wrong when the portal was still on Sora’s computer. He could still hear his mother crying over the phone and as the exhaustion in his body was replaced by fear.

 

* * *

 

Sora had enjoyed the night she had with Matt. It was simple, they didn’t need to do much to have a good time. Her only regret was falling asleep and getting caught by her mom. She knew that her mom didn't approve of her dating the digidestined that went haywire, but he made her feel safe. He wasn't the same as his twelve-year-old self, and yet he was. He was still the kind, collected planner who protected them from rash decisions and her from her darkness. Her mother just couldn’t see past the fight with Tai.

Suddenly, her cell phone rang, the ringtone signaling that it was Matt calling. It was so early! She didn’t want to answer the phone but nonetheless found the earpiece next to her head. “Sweetie, you know I love you but I need to sleep right now.”

She hung up the phone, throwing it back on her nightstand. Not a minute later, it rang again. “This better be important.”

“Check your computer.”

“What?” she asked, confusion muddling her tired brain.

“Please, I need to know something.” His voice was full of worry.

She got up irritably and sat at her desk, moved her mouse and saw the portal. “What am I looking for? All I see is the portal.” There was an uneasy silence at the other end that instantly sharpened her senses. Something was wrong. “What is it, Matt?”

“T.K. was still in the digital world when we left.” His voice was nervous now.

“So, I don’t see…” Suddenly, she knew. “If the portal is still on my computer…”

“…he never left the digital world.”   And the phone connection was terminated.


	2. Courage to Help a Friend

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important that fear.”

~Ambrose Redmoon

* * *

 

Tai raced down the sidewalk, his breath coming in heavy gasps as sprinted to the designated meeting spot.  Davis was right on his heels as the pair turned the corner to see their large group waiting for their arrival.  “Dang it….we’re late….again,” said Tai.

“Why are we always last?” whined Davis.

“I can’t believe you left without us, Kari,” said Tai, his hands on his knees as he struggled to regain his breath.

“It’s not my fault.  I said I was leaving with or without you and you chose the latter,” said Kari, her arms folded and eyebrows slanted.

“Besides, for once you two aren’t the last to arrive,” said Cody.  “Matt, Sora, and T.K. aren’t here yet.”

Just as he said this, Tai spotted Sora rounding the corner…alone.  He instantly felt uneasy.  He assumed Matt would be with her as the two had been inseparable since they started dating.

“Hey Sora,” said Kari with a giggle, “where’s your other half?”

“Oh,” she said lowering her head, “he wasn’t at home.  I think he’s out…”  Tai noticed the sadness on his friend’s face, but knowing her preference not to burden others with her problems, he decided to ask her later so as not to bring it to the attention of the others.

“Ok then, time to eat,” yelled Davis, grabbing as many of his friends as possible and dragging them down the street.  Sora looked back toward the direction Matt would come.

“It’s ok, Sora,” said Mimi, placing her hand on Sora’s shoulder, “we decided yesterday where we’re going to eat, so Matt and T.K. can just catch up with us.”  Mimi turned and followed the others, and Sora followed her solemnly.

Tai noticed her tailing behind the group and decided to fall back next to her.  “Penny for your thoughts?” he asked, pulling her from whatever debate occurring on in her head.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” she said, attempting an obviously fake smile.

“You know, you never have to tell me what’s going on between you and Matt, but you know I am always here to listen. No judgement.”  He put his arms behind his head, looking up at the sky as he spoke.

She hesitated for a moment.  “It’s nothing yet,” she said quietly.  “His mother just called him last night and told him something.  He is trying to fix the problem, but it really upset him.  The fact that he isn’t here makes me think they didn’t figure it out and that is really worrying me.”

“Is somebody in trouble?” he asked earnestly.  Matt was an emotional guy, but it still took a lot to truly upset the guy.  He understood why Sora would be concerned.

“Maybe, but I don’t want to worry anyone about it until I hear from Matt.  It could just be a mistake.”  She hesitated, biting her bottoms lip as she obviously struggled with the idea of sharing more. “But it could be really bad, Tai.”

“Is it T.K.?”  She only had to look at him for him to know it had everything to do with the younger Digidestined.  He knew not to press anymore, but mentally prepared himself.  Nothing could put Matt in a mood worse than bad things happening to T.K. or Sora.

Soon, they arrived in the restaurant, Tai feeling more solemn than he had at the start of the day.  Thoughts of worry for Matt preoccupied his mind, pushing his hunger into the back of his mind, and forcing him to keep his eyes on Sora.  The others were laughing and telling stories, but Sora was sitting silently, pushing her food with her fork.  Tai watched as Kari and Mimi noticeably became aware of Sora’s distracted behavior.

“Sora, what’s wrong?” asked Kari, her eyes shining with concern.

The others stopped and looked at her.  One by one began to realize that something was wrong and couldn’t remember her saying anything after they had met this morning.  She looked at them.  Tai could see the wheels spinning in her head as she tried to determine whether or not to tell them what was going on, and deciding not to.

“Something happened with Matt didn’t it?” asked Yolei.

Everyone stared at her with anticipation, concern written on their faces at the possible turmoil that could be happening in their friends’ relationship.  Tai sat in anticipation as he saw Sora finally come to a decision to tell.  “Yes and no,” said Sora. “Matt called me last night and…” 

She was interrupted by a tall, blonde boy joining them at the table.  He placed his elbows on the table, resting his head in his hands, exhaustion emanating from his very being. Sora was behind him in a flash, her hands on his shoulders in an attempt to sooth him.  “Matt,” she said panicked, “did you find him?”

“I searched everywhere, Sora,” he said.  Tai took in his best friend’s appearance.  Dark circles sat heavy under his eyes and his shoulders slumped from an evident lack of sleep.  “I couldn’t find him.”

“Did you get any sleep?”

“Not after I called you.” 

“Wait,” said Ken, “find who?”

They were all looking at Matt, but Matt only looked at Kari and then dropped his gaze to the floor.  Kari dropped her fork onto the table and stared back at the blonde, having a silent conversation between them.  His fists were clenched in anger and worry.  “T.K. didn’t come back from the digital world yesterday.”

Tai felt his heart nearly stop.  It was one thing for T.K. to be in trouble or something to be going on with his family, but this was something entirely different. He heard gasps from some of his friends.  Others simply looked confused as they put the pieces together.  Kari, on the other hand was obviously trying to keep herself together. “Wait, how do we know T.J. didn’t just stay with Patamon last night?” asked Davis  
   
Matt’s mouth was clenched in rage, his voice darkening as he addressed him.  “First off, it’s T.K.  Get it right.  Second, I thought that might be it too, until I went there and looked for him.  I found this.”  He reached into his pocket and tossed T.K.’s D3 onto the table.

This was really bad.  Tai knew all of the Digidestined carried their digivices with them at all times in the case that they had to go to the digital world in an emergency or just felt like visiting their partners over lunch.  Finding the digivice without the Digidestined attached to it was not a good sign of things to come.

“But how?  Why?  We just defeated MaloMyotismon.  There shouldn’t be any darkness left!” yelled Cody. 

“Um, people are staring,” said Mimi as she shrunk down in her chair.  Tai looked around and noted all of the faces that had turned their attention to the group.  Since being exposed to the world as the Digidestined, they were noticed more than they thought they would, but they had obviously been making a slightly larger scene than they had realized.

“I told you,” said Joe, adjusting his glasses and folding his arms, “it was only safe until the next evil digimon came and then we would start all over again.”

“SHUT UP, JOE!  JUST SHUT UP!”  Everyone looked at Matt who was now standing, glaring at the older boy.  His fists were clenched, knuckles turning white as he pressed them into the surface of the table in an obvious effort not to throw himself at his friend.

“Excuse me,” came a shaky voice.  “You will all either need to quiet down or leave.  You are disturbing my customers.”  Yolei moved to intercede with the manager which had approached them and began apologized immensely, promising that they would keep themselves under control. 

“Matt,” said Tai, moving to place his hands on his friend’s shoulder, “you need to calm down.”  He knew how much he cared about T.K., and it was likely killing him that he didn’t know where he was.  Tai knew he would be the same way if it had been Kari that was missing, but this was neither the time nor the place to have a meltdown. They could do that later after forming a plan to find him.

Matt’s shoulders relaxed as he closed his eyes, sitting back down.  “I’m sorry, Joe.  I’m just….”

“It’s ok.  You’re under a lot of stress.”

“You know what,” said Izzy, “it’s likely that he merely dropped it.  He’s probably wondering where it is right now.”

 

* * *

 

 Where was he?

What was this pain?

He struggled to open his eyes, his head spinning and heavy.  T.K. felt stone on his back and metal rings pulling on his wrist, his feet barely reaching the floor.  Was he hanging?  Pain shot through his body like fire from the stretching of his arms and back.  His vision was blurry but he could just make out three digimon, dressed in black, sitting on the floor. 

He felt the panic hit him as he recalled what had happened to him.  He quickly did a mental check of his condition and realized he had no idea how long he had been here.  Instantly his mind went to Matt, Kari, Patamon and his mom.  Did they know he was gone?  Were they worried and out looking for him?  Would they think to look in the digital world?  Was he even in the digital world?

He pulled his thoughts together and began to try and formulate a plan, decide what he needed to do.  First, he needed to figure out where he was and the identity these digimon.  He blinked, trying to rid himself of the blur that still plagued his vision, but the haze still remained.  Nonetheless, he still examined the three creatures in front of him.

The three humanoid digimon took the form of three demonic girls of various physical ages.  Each had a pair of large, ram-like horns protruding from their heads and small yet powerful black leathery wings topped with razor-sharp talons protruding from their backs.  Long, black devil tails hung through the bottom of the dark dresses they wore

“Where am I?” he asked, wincing as his vocal cords grated in his throat.

“Somewhere,” came the lifeless voice of the digimon which appeared to be his age, pulling at the ears of the stuffed rabbit she carried in her arms. Her full length dress tied shut with corset-like bodice with long sleeves ending in lace by her wrists.  Her long, sandy blonde hair was tied into pigtails and her dull grey eyes reminded him of death, staring off into the distance at nothing.

“Who are you?”

“Questions, questions,” said the apparent older one, tossing her long silver hair.  She looked at the boy with eyes of mudded blood; adorning herself with a short, button down dress with a high collar, long fingered gloves with metal cuffs, and high boots.  “If you must know, we are known as the Three Sisters.  I am Enyomon.  This is my youngest sister, Pemphredomon.  And last is the middle child, Deinomon.”

He quickly took in the appearance of the last digimon.  She looked about his age when they first came to the digiworld.  Her short brown hair exposed her pointed ears as she glared back at him with large brick red eyes, like a child trying to appear intimidating.  Her balled up fists held straight at her sides, hidden in her black baby doll dress.

“Why am I here?” he continued.  Maybe they would tell him something that would help him escape.

“You will serve a purpose,” came a dark silky voice.  It sent chills down his spine as T.K. recognized the voice as that of his captor.  “You will bring Light to me.”  He came forward and placed his hand around T.K.’s chin, turning his face side to side as he examined it.  “Now, where is the thing you humans call a cell phone?”  He dug through T.K.’s pockets until he found the communication device.  He flipped it open and gave a small, lopsided smile.  “Ah yes, Yamato cell.  That shall do nicely.”

“Leave him alone!” yelled T.K.  He tried to struggle against the shackles that encased his wrists, causing pain to shoot through his body again.  The sisters began to laugh an evil yet sweet laugh and the demon digimon only smirked. 

The demon pushed some buttons and then snapped the cell phone shut.  “What are you gonna do to me?” asked T.K.  He could feel the fear bubbling up in his chest.  This was not good.

“Nothing for now,” said Enyomon.  Her eyes glistened evilly.  “Bait is not tantalizing to the fish if the bait is already dead.”  The demon smirked at his underling, slipping the cellphone into his pocket.  He turned to leave the dungeon, not even glancing at the Digidestined again. The Three Sisters following him, leaving the young human with nothing but the cold that pressed into his skin and the sound of the demons’ distant laughter.

The situation truly sunk into the Digidenstined and an eminent feeling of helplessness took over his mind. His struggles ceased as tears threatened to form in his eyes.  “What am I gonna do?”

 

* * *

  
Tai felt his friend jump under his hand as the quiet sound of a vibrating cellphone reached his ears.  He took a step back and Matt rushed to remove the device from his pocket, hands shaking as the attempted to unlock it.  The group watched in anticipation as Matt began to read his screen; the color draining from his face.

And Tai saw a transformation in his friend that he hadn’t seen in years.  His hands clenched for a moment, threatening to crush the phone contained in them under the pressure before the completely relaxed.  All emotion disappeared from his face as he turned his gaze to the floor, avoiding eye contact with everyone around him. He gently placed the phone on the table and slowly got up, no rush registering in any of his movements as he left the table and exited the restaurant; leaving the phone behind.

There was a moment when Tai’s eyes met Sora’s; both having a silent conversation, knowing what job each of them would take.  Sora nodded to her friend, silently turning and following Matt outside to comfort the man from whatever it was that he was just learned.  Tai moved forward to pick up the phone and quickly read the screen.  He had to read it over several times, shocked by the message and wanting to make sure he was reading it correctly, short as it was.  He didn’t want to believe it, it read like a trap, but even if it was they had to head into the fire. 

“Would you just read it already?!” Davis yelled.

Tai looked up at Davis, locking his eyes with the new leader and he could tell Davis already knew wat was coming.  Tai’s hand began to shake as he read the message aloud.  “Matt, help me…I’m in the Digital World.  They're going to kill me.”

Tai looked at the door Matt had just exited.  He couldn’t help but feel sorry for his friend, things like this always seemed to happen to T.K. and Matt always took responsibility.  He slipped the phone in his pocket and began moving to follow the blonde, taking a moment to look at all of the remaining digidestined who were obviously waiting for instruction.  “Alright team,” he said, “get ready.  We have a rescue mission.”


End file.
